New Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort all the buzz in Palm Springs

Anyone who thinks Palm Springs is a tired, staid golf destination simply hasn’t been paying attention.

While many other traditional golf meccas have seen little new - and in some cases the closing of plenty of old - the Coachella Valley has experienced a run of high-profile course openings in the last two years.

Now, the few month-old Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort is drawing the most consistent buzz. Built on the site of the old West Course which was closed for the construction in November of 2005, Celebrity Course is a whole different golf animal.

This Clive Clark design is much more dramatic and scenic golf.

“There are waterfalls, they’ve redesigned a lot of holes, put in new holes,” said Tim Hurja, a PGA pro who now runs Palm Springs Golf Central, a hotel and golf packaging company. “The Eisenhower Mountain is really visible on a number of holes.

“And the 13 through 18 stretch is just unbelievable.”

For a complete review of the new Celebrity Course and the full story on Palm Springs’ new course boom, stay tuned to GolfCalifornia.com in the coming weeks.